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2010 World Cup Draw
Topic Started: Nov 16 2009, 11:25 AM (1,137 Views)
Merengue
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This is great!

Charlize Theron's Joke On FIFA

Co-host for Friday's World Cup draw Charlize Theron played a little joke on FIFA during a rehearsal on Wednesday for the event. Says the Irish Independent:

Ms Theron, whose long-term partner is Irish actor Stuart Townsend, pulled out the 'Ireland' ball instead of a 'France' ball. But, unlike much of the rest of the world, Ms Theron was not laughing at us.
Instead, she was having a laugh at FIFA's expense after Ireland's failed bid to become the 33rd team at the event.

"Yes, she did, but it was only a joke," FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke said.


I'm betting her next movie will be a big hit in Ireland!
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ursus arctos
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Anyone wishing to simulate their own draw (without Ms. Theron, but with a Toy Story-inspired metallic claw); should check out this applet from the Mexican paper Record.
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raconteur
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ursus arctos,Dec 3 2009
03:56 PM
Anyone wishing to simulate their own draw (without Ms. Theron, but with a Toy Story-inspired metallic claw); should check out this applet from the Mexican paper Record.

While I would rather have Charlize Theron pulling my balls, err picking the balls out of the pots, this simulator ursus gives us is pretty cool. I just did it and surprisingly there were not any real "Groups of Death." The toughest groups in my simulation of the draw were: Holand, Australia, Cameroon, Switzerland; and England, South Korea, Chile, France. Difficult but not monstrously tough groups. US fans would be happy to see the US got paired with South Africa, Uruguay and Serbia. Now that would be apretty interesting and evenly matched group.

Anyway the simulator is fun, I suggest trying it out to see what it brings. Tomorrow we get the real fun as Ms. Theron does her thing and we find out the destiny for each of the 32 nations.
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Sergio
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You would not like what the simulated draw came up when I tried it raconteur. The US was placed in a group with Italy, Chile and Portugal. Ouch!

The other tough group I came up with was Germany, Mexico, Uruguay and Switzerland. Not a pleasant mock draw for either of CONCACAF's big teams.

This is all fun and games, but also shows you how much this draw is just a giant game of chance. Can't wait for tomorrow!
"You left as a champion, you will always be in our hearts. Rest in Peace Christian Benítez."
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Winslow
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Simon,Dec 3 2009
12:01 PM
It's amusing to think that South Africa could possibly get, say, Mexico, Paraguay and France, and yet we all know there's absolutely no chance of that happening...

I personally would be disappointed if England were drawn with North Korea, Algeria and Slovenia. IMO you want a group that will generate excitement and anticipation over the next half year until the tournament begins. I'm hoping England get at least one 'big team', hopefully France/Portugal and/or Ivory Coast. That would really give us something to look forward to.

Actually, if there's one team I'd really like England to avoid, it's Australia. They'd be so revved up to play England, and it's by far our biggest sporting rivalry.

Geez, Simon, we should start calling you Carnac. (This is a reference to the old Johnny Carson show, and only white Americans over 30 are sure to understand it.)

I won't post the entire draw, because someone is likely to beat me to it, but Bafana Bafana did end up with Mexico and France, along with Uruguay, while England did get Algeria and Slovenia, but not Australia--another former possession, the United States!

I love this draw. Loveitloveitloveitloveitloveitloveitloveit.

The draw doesn't look too unbalanced; the hardest group is probably Brazil's with Portugal, Ivory Coast, and North Korea, but Germany (Australia, Serbia, Ghana) and Holland (Denmark, Japan, Cameroon) both have a tough row to hoe.
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Merengue
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All the groups:

Group A
1. South Africa
2. Mexico
3. Uruguay
4. France

Group B
1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
3. South Korea
4. Greece

Group C
1. England
2. United States
3. Algeria
4. Slovenia

Group D
1. Germany
2. Australia
3. Serbia
4. Ghana

Group E
1. Netherlands
2. Denmark
3. Japan
4. Cameroon

Group F
1. Italy
2. Paraguay
3. New Zealand
4. Slovakia

Group G
1. Brazil
2. North Korea
3. Côte d'Ivoire
4. Portugal

Group H
1. Spain
2. Switzerland
3. Honduras
4. Chile

Groups of Death for me are G with Brasil, Cote d'Ivoire and Portugal, sorry North Korea, Group E with Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon and Group D, Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana. These are all tough groups. Actually I'll add Group A to it too, South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and France. No favors whatsoever for the host country.

England-United States will attract plenty of interest here but both teams must love the draw, if you could pick two teams from Pots 3 and 4 you'd have wanted, most would have picked Algeria and Slovenia. And Italy must be very grateful for it's draw, paired with Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia. Spain has to be reasonably happy with it's grouping, Switzerland, Honduras and Chile. But if as expected Spain wins this group it will face the 2nd team from that super difficult Brasil, Cote d'Ivoire and Portugal group so the path to glory will not be easy.

Can't wait for this all to begin!
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Yogi
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Who needed those draw simulators when we have Simon? :P Very good job there.

Where to start? I'm in agreement with everybody, that Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal group is a killer one. It may come down to how everyone does against North Korea, the 4th and weakest team in that group. But Germany has a tough group too with Australia, a team Italy knows will not give up and are a hard nut to crack, Serbia, a team with plenty of talent who finished ahead of France in their qualifying group and Ghana one of Africa's best teams.

As an Italy and US fan I could not be happier with what this draw brought my two national teams. Italy with Paraguay, a disciplined team but one with limited talent, New Zealand, a team which will work hard but is very limited technically and Slovakia, potentially a surprising team with a star, Marek Hamsik who will know Italy's players very well as he plays for Napoli. But overall, this is a manageable group for Italy.

And the US paired with England in it's debut has a dream matchup to start the tourney. Follow that with Algeria and Slovenia, two teams most anyone would have preferred before the draw and the US has to be happy with it's draw. As Alexi Lalas pointed out on TV today, this is a group the US should expect to qualify out of, anything less would be a big disappointment. Simon may have preferred a tougher group for England but when he thinks about it, I don't think he will complain too much about what England got.

Mexico got itself a tough draw with the host country, France and Uruguay. Perhaps France and Uruguay are not at their best now but on paper this looks like one of the most balanced groups in the whole tournament. Maybe the one group where there is not a clear cut favorite.
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hobbes
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For me the Portugal of right now could beat Ivory Coast for second, but neither team has a shot of beating Brazil and North Korea are no hopers with that bunch (I thought North Korea could maybe neutralize Portugal, esp. with their scoring struggles, but I’m not sure how North Korea will rebound after opening against Brazil).

I think Group D is significantly tougher and group E is very similar but just a shade less impressive across the board.

I think a few Americans are under-estimating Slovenia. I would have much rather had Slovakia or Greece and I’d have probably preferred the Swiss as well. Algeria won’t be easy either, though that’s pretty winable. It’s a draw that sets you up to advance, but it’s not going to be easy by any means.

I think all three CONCACAF have a shot at advancing, but Honduras is going to need to beat Chile in their opening game I think and that might be a big ask.

cheers,
hobbes
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shelsoccer
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Put me down with those that think Brazil's group is the toughest, followed by Germany's.

As for the US, as I posted in the US National Team, thread, I don't discount Slovenia at all. However, the US got a very favorable draw -- one that I'll be disappointed if they don't advance from. Not only is the US draw good, but the sequence of games and the limited travel are real plusses.

I'll go out on a limb right now and predict that S. Africa becomes the first host country not to advance. Their group is very balanced. They didn't draw an inferior team. It'll take an upset of one and a tie against another for the Bafana Bafana to have a chance. I don't see it happening.
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Dr. Z
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Mexico got itself a tough draw with the host country, France and Uruguay. Perhaps France and Uruguay are not at their best now but on paper this looks like one of the most balanced groups in the whole tournament. Maybe the one group where there is not a clear cut favorite.

As a Mexico fan I have to agree with the quoted comment above. It is a difficult group for Mexico but we have been in difficult groups before, notably 1994 with Italy, Ireland and Norway and 2002 with Italy, Croatia and Ecuador and both times El Tri not only advanced out of the group but I believe even won those groups. Mexico rises to the challenge in group play, it is once we get to the elimination stage where we have troubles. Opening against the hst country is bth good and bad, the pressure will especially be on South Africa and this is a team which has been struggling. but we all know the host countries find ways to get out of their groups. Maybe shelsocce ris right and this is the time the host country won't get out. As for the other 2 nations in the group, Uruguay are always a rugged team but they are a team Mexico can beat, we have met them before in Copa Americas and won. France worries me because they not only have the combination of size and speed which Honduras and the US have which often troubles Mexico but they also have plenty of technical players too. Bottom line for me is Mexico cannot lose that opening game against South Africa, a tie is acceptable a win of course even better.

As for the most difficult group it is a tough call. As merengue noted there are several which are pretty evenly matched. Brazil's group is difficult but I don't think it is the toughest because first of all Brazil will qualify, they don't lose games in group play especially with the sound defensive team they now have and secondly the 4th team North Korea is not as strong as the rest in the group. Ivory Coast and Portugal will battle for 2nd place. Look at Germany's group where there is Australia, Serbia and Ghana, each of those 3 teams can give the top seed a tough game. That and Mexico's group are in my opinion the two most evenly matched groups.
Poniendo el pecho a las balas!
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Simon
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Yeah it's funny that in describing the kind of dull group I'd be a bit disappointed with, I ended up calling two thirds of our actual group! I wish I'd played the lottery tonight!

I guess I'm just thinking of past group phases at tournaments, when we had Holland and Scotland in 96, Germany in 2000 or Argentina in 2002. Those were matches that really got everyone talking and fired peoples imagination in the run-up to those tournaments. I suppose it helps my nostalgia for those games that we won them all as well! England v Slovenia isn't really going to get the blood pumping in the same way, but hey ho. Our opposition from Pot 2 should on paper have probably been the weakest in our group, but when America (perhaps the best team in Pot 2) popped out I could picture Ivory Coast and France following them in what would be a really tough group. As it happens, USA turned out to be arguably the strongest other side in Group C. The last time England failed to qualify from the group stage was back in 1950 (although we lost a special post group play-off with the USSR in 1958), and we all know who beat us on that occasion! Hopefully there'll be no repeat this time...

Oh, and my cynicism was misplaced, as South Africa ended up with what looks a really difficult group. As a curious aside, France, Mexico and Uruguay were also in with the host nation in 1966 as well! But I don't think South Africa will match the host's achievements of that year ;)
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Martin
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Is this one of the toughest first round groups a host nation has receievd in years? Off the top of my head I cannot recall many other home countries getting groups this difficult. Although maybe two other hosts who weren't considered powers South Korea in 2002 (Portugal, Poland and the USA) and the United States in 1994 (Colombia, Romania and Switzerland) also had competitive groups and advanced. But South Africa won't have it easy at all. There is Mexico, a team as Dr. Z wrote which always seems to do well in group play, last time Mexico failed to advance out of a group was in 1978 (although it was not in the 1982 or 1990 tournaments). France and Uruguay are a pair of former world champions, neither are at that level now but neither can be underrated. At least in South America, Uruguay are known for being a good tournament team, often advancing to the quarter or semifinals of the Copa America even when fielding weaker teams than their current one. And France, well despite the nature of their qualification, this is still the current World Cup runner up and you have to think with a healthy Ribery and Gourcuff, neither of whom were at that level v Ireland, France will once again be a formidable opponent.

I am not sure what is the most difficult group, Brazil's Group D has 3 good teams and one real unknown (North korea), Germany's group may have 4 teams capable of qualifying but I do not think it has 3 teams as tough as Group D does with Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast. You have to feel for the Ivorians, two World Cups in a row where they are drawn into one of the toughest groups. The Ivory Coast v Portugal group game may turn out to be one of the most interesting of all the group matches.

Spain may have a pretty manageable group, although Chile is I think one of the most underrated teams in the competition and Spain will not have good memories of playing Honduras in 1982. Add a Swiss team who are tough to break down and that is not a simple group. And as somebody else mentioned, the winner plays the Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal runnerup. So Spain will not have it easy once they get out of their group, a potential quarterfinal matchup with Italy also looms for Del Bosque's squad.

The thought of all of these games really gets me excited. Looking forward to this all starting, but as somebody wrote it is almost as if the tournament began today.
Club Sportivo Desamparados
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Pepe
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Spain has to be reasonably happy with it's grouping, Switzerland, Honduras and Chile. But if as expected Spain wins this group it will face the 2nd team from that super difficult Brasil, Cote d'Ivoire and Portugal group so the path to glory will not be easy.


I absolutely agree with this, an accessible group, although Chile and Switzerland won't be easy but the potential second round opponents will be extremely difficult for Spain. The good news is if both Brasil and Spain win their groups they could be on track for a meeting in a dream final, at least for we fans of either nation! But that is looking too far in the future. In the short term, I am content with Spain's group and hope the difficulty of that Brasil, Portugal, Ivory Coast group wears out whichever nations comes in 2nd! :P

I agree there were no favours for South Africa but we also cannot underestimate the lift the home nation gets. We saw in the Confederations Cup, South Africa are not a bad team so nobody should underestimate them. But Mexico, France and Uruguay are all very difficult opponents for them. Overall I like the draw, you get the geographical diversity within a lot of these groups which has been discussed here, some intriguing opening round matchups, some with colonial backgrounds: Portugal-Brasil, England-United States, others with a history from previous World Cups: Argentina-Nigeria, Spain-Honduras, Germany-Serbia (ex Yugoslavia). Adds some interest to the competition.
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Alexao
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Well as Dunga said Brasil x Portugal really is Brasil x Brasil B! :D

Pepe, Deco and Leidson, that is three Brasilian born starters playing for Portugal. Reverse colonization!

I like the dififculty of the group Brasil were placed in, that should ensure they play hard from the first game. Portugal and Ivory Coast will not be easy opponents but they are teams Brasil can and should beat if the team wants to win the hepa championships (7th championship.)

I think of South America's 5 teams Brasil and Uruguay got the most difficult draws. Argentina, Chile and Paraguay should all be happy with their luck in the placements.

Tough group for Germany, they will advance but it will be a real fight for the 2nd spot between Australia, Serbia and Ghana, three evenly matched teams.
Xandão
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libero
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Group A
1. South Africa
2. Mexico
3. Uruguay
4. France

Tough group for the host, I think South Africa's hopes hinge on that opening game against Mexico. Come to think of it Mexico's may too. I think France wins the group, any of the other 3 teams could come in 2nd.

Group B
1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
3. South Korea
4. Greece

A good draw for Argentina, they're favorites here, Nigeria maybe slight favorites for 2nd but both Korea and Greece have chances here too.

Group C
1. England
2. United States
3. Algeria
4. Slovenia

A great draw for England, although the US game will become a bit of a grudge match. Another group where the remaining 3 teams each have a legit chance at qualifying with the US being slightly favored to join England in going through.

Group D
1. Germany
2. Australia
3. Serbia
4. Ghana

Like others, I agree this is a very even group. Well, Germany is favored and rightly so. Has Germany ever failed to advance out of group play? If so it was sometime before most of us were even born. I don't know what to think of Serbia, they often promise much but deliver little. I think Australia and Ghana each have a good chance to join Germany in advancing.

Group E
1. Netherlands
2. Denmark
3. Japan
4. Cameroon

Yet another even group, Netherlands favored but Denmark and Cameroon should battle for 2nd. Japan with an outside chance but i think they are too lightweight to challenge the others in the group.

Group F
1. Italy
2. Paraguay
3. New Zealand
4. Slovakia

A fantastic group for Italy. Paraguay may be tough to break down but they and Slovakia, led by Marek Hamsik will fight for 2nd. New Zealand will make up the numbers.

Group G
1. Brazil
2. North Korea
3. Côte d'Ivoire
4. Portugal

As everybody has noted, an extremely difficult group featuring 3 of the world's best players-Kaka, Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo. Probably the most interesting group in the tournament. Ok Brazil we know will get through, to be joined by ? Ivory Coast-Portugal should be a thrilling opening group game.

Group H
1. Spain
2. Switzerland
3. Honduras
4. Chile

Good draw for Spain with Chile and Switzerland fighting for 2nd. But Spain won't look forward to meeting 2nd place from Group G in the 2nd round.
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